well, there's a wocket in my pocket ♪ and a horton hear as who, a very hungry caterpillar's on the loose ♪ oh, yeah ♪ butterflies in the sky, i can go twice as high ♪ take a look, it's in a book, a reading rainbow ♪ a reading rainbow, a reading rainbow, yeah ♪ >> the great jimmy fallon. thank you so much. >> that's it for us tonight. it's been an extraordinary year. thank you for watching.

tonight the biggest names in politics. >> word peace is something almost become fashion. >> headline makers. >> if the president didn't know what happened, he sure as hell should have. >> candidates. >> i was the perfect candidate for america. >> what if mitt romney isn't the best person? >> the idea that somehow making a business profitable is different than helping people. >> it's ridiculous for people to purchase a gun.

>> did you get up this morning and have a quick -- >> i probably did, i probably did. >> "piers morgan tonight: the newsmakers" starts now. good evening. one of the great things about my job is that every night i get to sit down with movers and shakers, the men and women at the center of the biggest stories of the year. what do they have in common? they're all utterly fascinating. tonight you'll hear from some of my favorite guests. we'll begin with the big man himself, governor chris christie. he found himself in a bit of hot water for making nice with president obama in the wake of hurricane sandy. >> 2.8 million people without power. i've watched these extraordinary scenes over new jersey today, really quite unprecedented. i've never seen anything quite like it. have you ever seen anything like this in your lifetime? >> no, i haven't. you know, you see sights like

the seaside heights board walk where the program "the jersey shore" is filmed, the boardwalk is gone. it is gone. music rides, roller coaster ride, in the ocean. it's incredible. homes destroyed. it's an awful thing. >> you've taken charge, as you've always done in these situations, in a very impressive way. people have been surprised you've been so outspokenly supportive and praiseworthy to the president. i'm not surprised knowing you but explain to me why you were happy to do that so close to an election when some might say politically that wasn't the best thing to do. >> this is much more important than any election, piers. this is the livelihood of the people in my state when the president does this evenings that deserve praise, i will give him praise. when the president does things that deserve scorn, i will give him scorn. people know that about me. i am not going to play politics with this issue. this is so much bigger than an election.

this is the livelihood of the people of my state. people expect me to get the job done. when they ask me a question, i give an honest answer. how has the president been on this? he's been great. >> this killed ambassador christopher stevens, the country's terrorism chief now says it was a terrorist attack. >> clearly the death of ambassador christopher stevens continues to reverberate and the truth or otherwise of the circumstances leading up to his death seem to be pretty vague to put it mildly. where do you think we are with this? >> well, let me tell you what's not vague and that is five days after, five days after the -- what was very quickly determined by the intelligence committee as a terrorist attack, they trotted

out our ambassador of the u.n. to every major news outlet saying it was a spontaneous demonstration because of a hateful video. that's probably one of the worst things that i have ever observed in my life. and obviously there were warnings and obviously anybody who believes an attack with mortars and rocket propelled grenades is the result of a video is just ridiculous. and finally, piers, it's not the video that's stoking these demonstrations, as you know, it's the radical islamists that are using the videos as a means of inflaming passion in the middle east. i'll be damned if i'm ready to abandon the freedom of speech because it might offend the prophet mohamed. >> we've heard calls for ambassador rice to resign. are you in favor of that? >> no. that's shooting the messenger. she was told to go out and do that. i blame the secretary of state,

i blame the operatives in the white house and i blame our national security adviser. if the president didn't know exactly what happened, he sure as hell should have. >> cia director david petraeus steps down after admitting to cheating on his wife. tonight new information on his stunning resignation and the latest developments. >> there is a theory that, look, come on, we had great generals, mcarthur, patton, eisenhower, j.f.k., clinton, they all had affairs. what do you say to that? >> well, i don't think the idea -- the problem is that general petraeus had an affair. i think the idea and the big problem is that he was director of the cia and he walked into right into one of the most blackmailable situations you can have. it's good the u.s. found out about it before the russians or chinese. it's not that he's a general messing around, and according to the code of the justice that's not allowed.

>> teetering on the edge of the fiscal cliff with just 36 days to go until tax increases kick, in the white house and congress are playing a high stakes game of let's make a deal. >> only in america believes there has to be this what i believe to be really farcical now surely -- the nature of the world is very fast moving, america has huge economic problems, heading for another fiscal cliff, everyone laughing at you from afar, the american public sick and tired of all the games going on and there are you, grover norquist, a very bright guy still resolutely saying a pledge is a pledge is a pledge, it cannot be broken when

many of your own party are now saying you know, what it doesn't make sense to have this irresolute position anymore. >> two things, the pledge is not for life. but everybody who signed the pledge, including peter king, who tried to weasel out of it -- shame on him as the "new york sun" says tonight. i hope his wife understands commitments last a little longer than two years or something. >> whoa, hang on, hang on. that was a bit below the belt, grover. >> hey, if you think a commitment is not for as long as you make it for, the commitment for the pledge as peter king well knows when he signed it is as long as you're in congress you will rein in spending and reform government, not raise taxes. it's not for 500 years or two generations. it's only as long as you're in the house or the senate. if he stayed too long, that's his problem. but you don't tell the bank, oh, the mortgage, wasn't that long time ago?

if you make a commitment, you keep it. >> coming up, was mitt romney done in by his own party? when we come back, the republican presidential candidates who may have inflicted mortal damage on him rather than president obama. >> i'm just going to go back to the empty chair, which was going to be todd akin, who was going to talk to me about what hide said about rape and women. since it's just the chair, my obvious question would have about why are you such an offensive idiot to women? and the second obvious question, which again has to go to the chair unfortunately, would be why haven't you resigned yet? anyway, let's leave it there, shall we? they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes. [ male announcer ] glucerna hunger smart. a smart way to help manage hunger and diabetes. make a wish! i wish we could lie here forever. i wish this test drive was over, so we could head back to the dealership. [ male announcer ] it's practically yours. test drive! but we still need your signature. volkswagen sign then drive is back.

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whether i earned your vote or not, i have listened to you. i have learned from you. and you've made me a better president. and with your stories and your struggles, i return to the white house more determined and more inspired than ever about the work there is to do and the future that lies ahead. >> that's president obama delivering his victory speech on election night. in the end the race wasn't even close. maybe mitt romney didn't even have a chance. his fellow gop contenders

feasted on one of their own during the primaries. is it the american way that if somebody gives you a smack on the nose, you eventually have to smack them back? isn't it time now for you to accept that this negativity has pounded you into a position where much as you would like to keep it positive, isn't it time you got the old gingrich fist out and give romney a good ol' smack? >> harry truman in his great reelection campaign that gallup quit taking polls in mid september went after duey and the crowd would yell out "give 'em hell, harry" and he would yell back, "no, i just give them the truth and it hurts like hell." i think governor romney has done so many things that are indefensible in a republican primary -- it would be okay in a democratic primary but in a republican primary it would be indefensible.

all i have to do is tell the truth, i'm not going to go negative. all have i to do is point out facts. i think the next few weeks will a lot of fun. my only request of mitt is that he be honest with the country. >> america clearly needs someone with a good business brain. the economy remains in the tank. you went after mitt romney today about his work at bain capital, you called him a greedy wall street so and so. was that the most sensible position, calling him a vulture? i mean, should you be on that side of the coin, given that you're a successful texas governor, a good businessman yourself? is that the best way to attack him? because if mitt romney now wins the nomination, haven't you just landed barack obama a perfect stick to beat him with? >> well, there is a real difference between a venture capitalist and a vulture capitalist. venture capitalists are good. they go in, they inject their capital, they create jobs. bain capital, on the other hand,

it appears to me were vulture capitalists all too often. i don't get confused for a minute that barack obama and his team wouldn't attack mitt romney on that during a general election if he makes it that way. so if anything else, we're doing mitt a favor by exposing him early on so that he can either figure out how to defend that or, more importantly and better from my perspective, he's not the nominee to begin with. >> rush limbaugh did call a law student a slut and a prostitute for wanting to have insurance covered for her contraception. i presume you wouldn't view what as absurd or entertaining, you'd view that as pretty offensive. >> of course not. of course, as i said before. i want to spend my time talking about how we can grow the economy. what i'd like to talk about which is offensive, which is governor romney out there for almost a year telling the people in the republican primary that

he never advocated that romneycare would be a federal model, that he never advocated for an individual mandate that government at the federal level require people to buy insurance. now we find on several occasions just in the past week article after article, interview after interview where governor romney did just that in 2009. now, to me that's offensive. >> is he a liar then? >> well, this goes to the snobbish issue, which is he clearly did not tell the truth, that you don't necessarily go and, you know, accuse the person on a personal level, you describe the action. i did and i accurately described governor romney did not tell the truth to the republicans at the

debates serially telling him -- telling people that he did not do what we now know he did repeatedly. >> unless i'm mistaken, i think not telling the truth repeatedly is lying, isn't it? >> well, i'll let you frame that one and take responsibility for it. i just said all i'm going to say on this. >> were you disappointed there is not a bona fide tea party can't left in the race? >> we will unify as a party. shortly will be battening down the hatches on whoever our standard bearer will be. i will be happy to back that candidate. >> my guess is if you all sat down for dinner, the person you would be nodding with would be rick santorum. am i misreading? >> i like rick santorum a lot, i like mitt romney. >> who do you most agree with? >> i my opinions were fairly

forth right through the debate and i felt i was the perfect condition for america but that didn't happen. quite honestly, whatever candidate it, is i will be happy to back. >> presumably mitt romney is the least of the four candidates that you would personally endorse, right, because of his own health care plan wasn't that different. >> i think that's the positive difference that i made in this campaign. now mitt romney's answer is that he will get behind a full scale repeal. no matter who our nominee is, they've all committed verbally to appeal of obama care and it's up to us to hold our nominee's feet to the fire. >> so here's competition. let me put my own doctor hat. if i was prescribing some medicine for you right now, congressman, i would say the situation is looking pretty

terminal for your race to be the gop nominee. why don't you do the decent thing and pull out? why are you staying in the race? >> why don't you do the decent thing and not pester me with silly questions like that? i mean that, would be decent of you. >> it wasn't that silly. hang on. the latest gallup poll has you at 9%. >> wait, wait, wait, what you're looking for at delegates and we're doing quite yet. >> let's see how you're doing. mitt military 568 delegates, ron paul 71. >> yeah, okay. what about the states where they're still working through the process, which is most of them, you know, whether, you know, whether it's up in maine. right now we're doing very well in the state of washington. north dakota. excellent, now in nevada. and our people are in the right places and doing the things to become a delegate. it's way too soon to write anybody off. just because somebody is in second or third place, there's a race going on. what if mitt romney isn't the

best person? >> people have tried to portray you as a kind of ruthless money machine who some failed, some succeeded, you didn't care, you still got your fee, or you made a ton of money but actually quite a few of the companies that failed, a lot of people lost their jobs, their livelihoods and lost money. to me the key question is do you know instinctively from your recollections how many of those companies that you went into would have failed anyway if you hadn't? >> well, there's no question but that a number of places where we went in and invested, we were investing in an enterprise that was in trouble, that -- where the future was very much in

doubt for it and we invested in one busy think it lost 50 or $60 or more million the year before we invested and a lot of people didn't want to touch it. we were able to go in there with the current management team, help get the business back on track as an investors, the managers really ran it but they were able to turn it around see a real success. the idea that somehow making a business profitable is is different than helping people is really a foreign idea because the whole american free enterprise system is associated with creating success, making businesses profitable. and that's they could hire more people and grow. and every investment that i made while i was responsible for an investment firm, every investment was designed to try and help the business grow. and to become more successful. >> up next, one of our most fascinating and frustrating interviews. iran's president mahmoud ahmadinejad, one of the most feared men in the world. >> one of the best nights was -- >> let me stop you. >> i can get the hair out of my face. >> that is your husband landing. >> oh, it is!

how funny is that? >> it's actually the vice president landing. >> let's keep the camera rolling, actually, because this interview has just been interrupted by vice president biden coming over our heads and wrecking his wife's interview. it's lots of things. all waking up. ♪ becoming part of the global phenomenon we call the internet of everything. ♪ trees will talk to networks will talk to scientists about climate change. cars will talk to road sensors will talk to stoplights about traffic efficiency. the ambulance will talk to patient records will talk to doctors about saving lives. it's going to be amazing. and exciting. and maybe, most remarkably, not that far away.

the next big thing? we're going to wake the world up. ♪ and watch, with eyes wide, as it gets to work. ♪ cisco.

of all the people i interviewed this year, no one was as divisive and despised as iran's president mahmoud ahmadinejad. his answers were elusive, infuriating and fascinating. i asked what he thinks about israel and then i asked other world leaders what they think about him. >> looking live at new york city, home of the united nations, world leaders from 193 countries are gathering for the annual meeting of the general assembly. president mahmoud ahmadinejad will address the assembly on wednesday. he had some blistering words today. >> you have been condemned very vociferously in america for a comment you have said to have made, that you wanted israel to be wiped off the map, wiped off the face of the earth. there have been many different interpretations what you said. you have disputed the meaning that was then translated from the original farsi. let me give you the opportunity

to say exactly what you did say and to say exactly what you did mean. >> translator: we have been condemned in the united states for many things, for having deposed a dictator with the revolution, for having sought freedom and free elections, for not allowing our oil and national treasure to leave our country freely and for having stood up to very dangerous terrorists in the region, for having stood up against saddam hussein, who enjoyed the backing of many we stood up against him and did not allow the occupation of our territory. we've been condemned for a great many things because we said justice for all, the rule of law

for all, the right of peaceful nuclear energy for all. >> but do you want, do you want, mr. -- >> allow me, sir. allow me. >> the question wasn't any of that. >> but i will get to that answer. don't be in such a hurry. >> should israel be wiped off the face of the map? is that your desire? >> translator: if a group comes and occupies the united states of america, destroys homes while women and children are in those homes, incarcerate the youth of america, impose five different wars on many neighbors and always threaten others, what would you do? what would you say? would you help it? would you help that entity or

what you help the people of the united states? so when we say -- when we say to be wiped, we say for occupation to be wiped off from this world, for war seeking to be wiped off and eradicated, the killing of women and children to be eradicated and we propose the way, we propose the path. >> what they're really saying is despite the fact we deny the holocaust, threaten israel, demonize the united states and all this stuff, we want you to trust us. in spite of the fact that we won't cooperate with the international regime set up to avoid an arms race in the middle east and set up to avoid nuclear proliferation, we want you to trust us. so they don't have a tenable position. the reason nobody believes them is they don't have a tenable position. >> do you trust ahmadinejad? >> not on this i don't. >> his argument is why should america be allowed nuclear weapons, why should israel, who never admitted they have them, why should they be permitted to

have them? why should many countries be allowed nuclear weapons and not iran? >> then why isn't he going for some big are nonproliferation negotiation instead of acting what he really wants is a nuclear bomb because that will help to get everybody to get rid of their nuclear weapons. no serious person believes that. >> president ahmadinejad struck a strangely modifying tone, he's more reasoned than he has been at previous events. one reason is he's genuinely concerned israel may do a preemptive strike and nobody can control what happens next. second, the sanctions may well be biting. it may now be hurting iran and he's getting a lot of heat from his own people. what do you think? >> i think he will get some amount of heat from his own

people. next week for the first time iraq will actually export more oil than iran. so the whole balance of power in terms of royal production in the region is changing because of the sanctions. on the other hand, i think because of the recent report on the atomic energy committee is there's no sign that they are stepping. they hold views and do things that most people within the region find unacceptable. >> if we cut off iran's ability to export oil and which would face them with the prospect of a devastating economic blow, i think that would be an inevitable move to war and i think it would be a very seriously mistake. >> you deliberately avoided any kind of military conflict with iran when you were president. >> yes, i did. i was advised by many of our people to go to war with iran, to bomb them and punish them for holding our hostage.

>> do you still think it would be a terrible error to do that? >> i do. because every one of our hostages came home safe and free. >> when we come back from aurora, colorado to the tragedy of utah, what may be the most controversial topic of the year -- guns in america. toothpaste. arctic h use it with these 3d white products, and whiten your teeth in just 2 days. new crest 3d white toothpaste. life opens up when you do. i get congested. but now, with zyrtec-d®, i have the proven allergy relief of zyrtec®, plus a powerful decongestant. zyrtec-d® lets me breath freer, so i can love the air. [ male announcer ] zyrtec-d®. behind the pharmacy counter. no prescription needed.

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2012 may well be remembered as the year of the gun. the roll call of victims of gun violence in america is truly shocking from aurora, colorado to the sikh semple of wisconsin and sandy hook elementary school where 20 children were killed, 20 of them first graders.

>> breaking news, you're looking live at a community in mourning and shock after one of the worst mass shootings in history. a gunman walked into the sandy hook elementary school in newtown, connecticut and opened fire. >> he came late in my life but jesse was my best friend and my buddy, too. my little boy said something the night before to me and he said, dad, this is going to be the best christmas ever. and he was going on about it and i said, jesse, you know, it's -- you know, we'll make it the best we can and i don't have much family so it's kind of a quiet time for me and he made christmas happy for me and joyful and he made it what it

was and i said to him, jess, we'll make it the best we can. and the next day this tragedy happened that occurred and i thought to myself, boy, was he wrong about that. >> the ar-15, as we've now seen from the last three mass shootings in america, aurora, oregon and now the sandy hook school is the preferred choice of weapon for disturbed young men who want to commit atrocities. the president of the united states has indicated he wants to ban assault weapons like this. what is your view? >> i think we need to ban gun laws that ban people from protecting themselves. all over europe there have been

mass murders -- >> you're talking complete and utter -- >> people need to be able to defend themselves to the point of the crime and not for the police to come until after everybody's dead. >> what you said, mr. pratt, the gun deaths in australia and britain, they are 35 people killed a year. your country is 12,000. >> your murder rate is lower than ours, that is true. >> it's 35 against 12,000. >> your violent crime rate -- your violent crime rate is higher than ours, as is the violent crime rate in australia. america is not the wild west that you are depicting. we only have the problem in our cities and unhappily in our schools where people like you have been able to get laws put on the books that keep people from being able to defend

themselves. i honestly don't understand why you would rather have people be victims of a crime than be able to defend themselves. it's incomprehensible. >> you're an unbelievably stupid man, aren't you? >> it seems to me you're morally obtuse. you seem to be able to prefer being a victim to being able to prevail over the criminal element. i don't know why you want to be the criminal's friend. >> what a ridiculous argument. >> america is in shock tonight over a night of evil, over a dozen people dead and 59 others injured. it's the largest mass shooting in the history of the united states. all the victims wanted was to see the new "batman" film. jamie, did you think that you were going to get out alive or did you fear that everyone was going to die in there? >> no, my thought was this is how it ends, this is how i die,

this can't be the way i die, this can't be the way my son dies he's 4 months and this can't be the way my girlfriend dies and my stepdaughter dies, she's 4 years. just so many things pacing through your head but every time you hear a gunshot, i see it through the corner of my eye, see someone drop and i'm trying to like duck, just trying to get out of the way and people are falling next to me but i'm still all right. and just thinking this is it. >> every time one of these things happens, gabrielle giffords last year, this shooting here, there's an outrage and then very quickly it dissipates. the american quick people quite quickly go back to their normal lives and they don't demand action in the way i would expect them to. why do so many americans not feel angry enough to demand

further gun control? >> i would take it one step further. i don't understand why the police officers across this country don't stand up collectively and say we're going to go on strike, we're not going to protect you unless you, the public, through your legislature do what's required to keep us safe. after all, police officers want to go home to their families and we're doing everything we can to make their job more difficult but more importantly more dangerous by leaving guns in the hands of people who shouldn't have them. >> our big story tonight, trayvon martin shot at close range. >> from everything that you have seen, that you've read, that you've heard, what do you believe is the most likely set

of circumstances that led to your son being killed? >> i believe that george zimmerman hunted my son and because he could not contain my son, an altercation ensued and my son was shot and killed. >> if we reversed this situation and it was your brother that had been gunned down in exactly the same set of circumstances and the worst thing that happened as far as his behavior that was he had been followed and he'd got into an altercation and he was unarmed, he just had a bag of skittles on him and a guy who was much older who followed him in the street pulled out a gun and shot him dead, would you not at the very least, if you're

honest and candid about this, would you not have expected that person who at least be arrested, to at least perhaps face some kind of trial where the full evidence could come out? >> well, in -- you know, i take pause to that whole conjecture given of pulled out a gun and shot him. it's absolutely not fact. >> it is what happened. >> no, it is not what happened. >> did you pull out a shoot and shoot him. >> george showed tremendous restraint. >> but he had the gun on him, right? >> he had a permit to carry that gun. >> where was the gun? >> i believe it was tucked inside his pant waist in a waist holster. >> so he has pulled it out and he has fired it? >> well he has taken control of his firearm. he prevented his firearm from being taken from him and used against him and that's called saving your life. >> he killed the mother of his baby daughter and then killed himself. >> 70% or more footballers

apparently carry guns. clearly most of them have a lot of money, they drive fast cars, they go to night clubs, they party and all the rest of it. again, i guess it comes back to an overriding sense of the culture of the game is slightly out of control. at least statistics of arrests, for example, suggest that. what can you really do about it? >> i'm not sure what can be done about it exactly. the nfl prohibits the carrying of firearms at any facility, practice facility, any event that's connected to the team, they make a public relations appearance in the stadium i don't know how closely they enforce that. they do prohibit it and they do tell their players in their stated policy that while it is legal to possess a gun, we urge you not to and if you do possess a gun that you use it strictly for protection of home and

family and if possibly you're a hunter. it's more likely that something bad will happen if you're armed than something good will happen. >> coming up, same-sex marriage. are american becoming more liberal? when you have diabetes... your doctor will say get smart about your weight. that's why there's glucerna hunger smart shakes. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes. [ male announcer ] glucerna hunger smart. a smart way to help manage hunger and diabetes. gives you 1% cash back on all purchases,

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have a super sparkly day! ok. [ male announcer ] now all you need is a magic carriage. citi price rewind. start saving at citi.com/pricerewind. two monumental shifts in american culture in 2012, two states voting to legalize marijuana and same-sex marriage

is legal in nine states and the district of columbia. president obama tipped the scales with the stunning announcement he now supports same-sex marriage. >> how much of it is personal, how much is political? is this a game changer? just yesterday clay aiken said he wished president obama would, quote, hurry up. you must be pretty happy that he reacted so quickly. >> i am. i feel so empowered. >> i mean, a big day, you know, every gay american, a big day for every american in america, whatever reaction you had to it. how did you feel when you heard the news? >> you know, it is a little bittersweet. i'm in north carolina and as a north carolinian, i was really disappointed with the way the amendment initiative vote went yesterday here in north carolina. but it's -- it's very promising

to hear president obama finally come up and speak out on something that's so important. i think the ground swell and the energy behind a lot of the activists and the people who were important in the vote here yesterday in north carolina, that energy made its way to washington and president obama realized that this was a time to speak up and to speak out on the freedom for everyone to marry. >> do you think homosexuality is a sin? >> i think that it's -- it's unnatural. i think that it's detrimental and ultimately destructive to so many of the foundations of civilization. >> what do you do if one of your six kids says, dad, bad news, i'm gay? >> i'd sit down and have a heart to heart with him, just like you would with your son. >> if one of my kids said that,

i'd say great, son, as long as you're happy. what would you say? >> i wouldn't say that's great, son, as long as you're happy. i'd say there's all kinds of situations you wrestle through life and just because you feel something doesn't mean you act on it. >> so many people telling children that getting married or being gay is a sin, that itself is incredibly destructive in a country in which seven states have legalized it. >> you are using a standard of morality that telling people such and such of a behavior is sinful, you're using a standard of morality to make that statement and say that is terribly destructive. so everyone is going to have a standard -- >> no, no, listen. i'm not an american. i'm making the point that seven states in america have now legalized gay marriage. >> piers, you're speaking to a man who is a christian and i believe all of us are sinful. i could stand at the top of the list and say i need a savior and an overhaul of the heart more than anyone.

that's what i teach my kids. i teach them the values that i hold dear. >> i interviewed kirk cameron. >> oh, boy! >> talk about growing pains. it wasn't so much that he was opposed, it was the language he used, destructive to civilization. what? people can still feel that. >> i know and it's shocking and, again, like i have lived in new york and california most of my life. i was raised in new mexico and certainly a lot of people there still do feel that way and i do forget there are so many parts of our nation that feel that way and i think a lot of it is really lack of knowledge. >> something extraordinary happened on tuesday as voters in colorado and washington state said yes to legalizing marijuana for recreational use. it's a stunning move.

>> when you last did an interview with this show, larry king was the host. >> yeah. >> and you admitted to him halfway through that you were actually high at the time, you had infused yourself of some marijuana. so i've got to ask you the question, have you come similarly infused today? >> what's today? >> it can be any day you like. >> did you wake up this morning and have a quick, you know? >> i probably did, i probably did, if i remember. you know, that short term stuff. >> do you take a lot of it? >> i think some people have more tolerance, you know, for smoking pot than others and i know people that can take one hit and just go to sleep completely and other guys that can smoke a lot. me and snoop smoke a lot and in every country we've been in. i was in amsterdam one time and snoop called me and wanted me to

sing on his record. he said where are you and i said amsterdam so he caught the next plane and we recorded a song together. >> you and snoop go to the mecca and you both have a load of dope and you write some music together? >> now we can go to colorado. >> when we come back, words to live by by two very different spiritual leaders. d creamy... is it really 100 calories? let me put you on webcan... ...lean roasted chicken... and a creamy broth mmm i can still see you. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. i'm going to dream about that steak. i'm going to dream about that tiramisu. what a night, huh? but, um, can the test drive be over now? head back to the dealership? [ male announcer ] it's practically yours. but we still need your signature. volkswagen sign then drive is back. and it's never been easier to get a passat. that's the power

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as 2012 comes to an end, let's leave you with some encouraging words from two of the best non-spiritual leaders of this year. we are here to discuss the world peace summit that you have been asked to speak at. do you think the world is a more peaceful place now than it was when you first became the dal la made? >> yes. the fundamental level i think is much better. at least with disappearing at the berlin wall, eventually big change happened. so at least the two blocks, both have their nuclear weapon ready to shoot each other. that is now no longer. some violence, barry said. but compare during that danger

is still today. much better. i think the word peace almost something, peace, peace, peace. some people who really making every preparation for war but the use the word of peace, peace, peace. >> a very smart premise. you take a statement for every day of the month. very positive, very get up and the glass half full and not have them. people said it is easier for you, you're selling tens of millions of those, making hundreds of millions of dollars.

married a beautiful woman. life is pretty good for you. what about if i have lost my job, my house, my car. i can't feed my kids as tens of millions of americans are going through. what do you say about that? have you convinced them to take your leave? >> the big part of the ministry is -- and we face difficulties, too. our hearts go out to people. americans are hurting all over the world. if you get up in the morning and think life is lousy. there is nothing good in my future. i don't want to go to work. you're going to draw in more negativity. you'll get better and sink into depression and you'll miss your purpose. i am not saying it is easy when things are coming begins to but you've got to find something to be grateful for. things are coming against you, you have to get up and find something to be grateful for. >> that's it for us tonight. it's been an extraordinary year. thank you for wautching.

tornado strike. dozens of twisters in the past 24 hours. and the threat isn't over yet. a chilling find. detectives discover a note left by the gunman who ambushed volunteer firefighters in upstate new york. vacation over for president are o obama. cutting his vacation short with the physicifiscal cliff less th week ago. >> look who we have here? john and zoraida are off. up first, tornadoes and blizzards battering the deep south and the midwest. it's a holiday nature meyer for millions and mother nature isn't done yet. >> oh, my god. we need to go. it's right there. >> just look at that video. mobile, alabama. taking a beating. take a look at a tower cam video from our cnn affiliate.

wala, a twister leaving 25,000 customers without power, and we're now getting reports of extensive damage to homes, a high school, even a church. >> it came in behind the church right there. and then all green fluorescent lighting and popping transformers left and right. i hear the crash, and then the power went out. >> i prayed to god as loud as i could, and i was just praying for my safety, and i knew the church was shaking. i just prayed that the church stayed put. >> and here is the other half of the one-two conditiblanketing , and heading out east next. george, a lot of tornadoes sightings in the south overnight. 30 at last count. get us up to date.

what's the latest this morning? >> alina, we're talking about a strong storm system that left two dead on christmas day. and 90,000 without power this morning. some 30 tornadoes reported across the south according to the national weather service and you can see it here from the video. our affiliates took and the pictures and video people took of frightful scenes throughout the south. strong winds and tornado touchdowns from texas, alabama and mississippi, knocked down trees and power lines, and the damage on the ground is extensive. you see it here. get a sense of how strong winds were last night. take a listen to this woman who is keeping an eye on a tornado just outside of her window. >> christmas day tornado going through mobile. oh, my god. look. that's a tornado.

oh, wow. oh, jesus, look at that tornado. oh, my god, that's cool. jesus, please keep your hands on whoever is over there. >> this was a scary system. we got a lot of rain here in georgia. a very dynamic storm system that brought tornadoes to the south and blizzard warnings to the north. >> george howell, live at the cnn center in atlanta. george, thank you. >> you may not want to hear this, but the worst is yet to come. great blizzard conditions expected in ohio, pennsylvania, and we have seen snow as far south as texas. bonnie, how bad will this be today? >> it's gog to be bad. a lot of people traveling. dealing with thunderstorms across the southeast. a lot contain frequent lightning strikes, rolling into the

panhandle of florida and it will impact areas of jacksonville later on today, so that's something to keep in mind as well. take a look at current temperatures, definitely cold enough for cold to stick across a good portion of missouri and the foothills. temperatures above freezing to the east. this is a storm system that will continue to bring problems as we go through a good portion of the afternoon for today. keep that in mind if you are traveling. blizzard conditions are anticipated in the forecast through the boot hill of missouri to paducah, kentucky and carbondale, illinois. the system setting up to be problematic as it all advances to the east and that's something we're monitoring here. we'll bring you the latest on watches and warnings as they come in. other top stories, brand new information about the christmas eve ambush that left two volunteer firefighters dead in upstate new york. 62-year-old william spengler,

the man who set fire to his suburban rochester home began firing at firefighter at the scene, left behind a note and they found human remains inside his home. >> medical examiner has removed those remains. 191 lake road is where the shooter resided with his sister. the assumption is that it is the shooter's sister. >> there was no motive in the note. it did not speak to motive. there was some ramblings in there. he intended to burn his neighborhood down and kill as many people as possible before stopping. but as for as motive, all kinds of speculation, and trutfully, we do not know. >> spengler served 17 years in prison for beating his grandmother to death with a hammer in 1980. he killed himself monday morning after shooting four firefighters. the town of webster paid tribute to the victim at a memorial

service last night. in afghanistan, three people dead, seven injured, after a car bombing that targeted khost overnight. it happened at camp champman. this was also the site of an attack in 2009. syrian's police chief has defected, dealing another major blow to the assad regime. he announced he was defecting because the syrian army is not longer acting in the best interest of the people. this follows an attack on hungry people waiting in a bread line. former braves great andruw

jones free on bond after being arrested outside atlanta on christmas. a battery charge. the gwinnett county detention center tells us there was a domestic dispute with his wife. he played for the new york yankees last year and recently signed with a team in japan. shinzo abe has been elected in japan as prime minister. he held the same position six years ago, but resigned because of health problems. he says he's okay now and promised to revive the economy, address japan's debt and create a recovery plan for last last year's earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster. japan's economy sunk into recession two weeks ago. 'tis now the season for gift cards and those returns. shoppers expected to flood the stores again today to return or exchange gifts that don't fit or they tonight want. an analyst tells "the wall street journal" 10% to 15% of

coll holliday gifts come back as returns or exchanges. >> i don't have anything to return or exchange but i'm going to go to the store anyway, just to support the economy. because i enjoy it. coming up, president obama heads back to the white house today to work on the ever looming fiscal cliff. can he cut a deal with republicans. and david gregory may be in trouble of the law because of that ammo thing he has on his anchor desk. [ male announcer ] the more you lose, the more you lose,

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the president heading back to d.c. from hawaii to try to keep america from going over the fiscal cliff. as the house and senate reconvene tomorrow. the clock is ticking. six days until the deadline. the way things work in washington, can they actually get something done before the end of the year? brianna keilar, what is the latest on this? >> hi, there, drew. president obama will be heading home from hawaii tonight,

logical time arri arriving in d.c. thursday morning when the senate will be reconvenin reconvening, and the senate, all eyes on now, that we look for the last-ditch effort to avoid the fiscal cliff. even though the president is returning on thursday, we may not see the senate roll out its bill to deal with the fiscal cliff. perhaps for a couple of days. this is entirely possible we've learned from sources as senate majority leader harry reid works to get republican support in the senate, which he will need if he's going to pass a bill. and so we're still waiting to see exactly what it will look like that the white house wants for the threshold on income tax rates to cut off at $250,000. we will see if that ultimately is what senate majority leader reid rolls out. as of this point in time, we're expecting this to be a limited measure to deal just really with the fiscal cliff, which was supposed to be appear incentive

to deal with the long-term fiscal health of the country. not part of this, obviously looking at a big package. >> can you do this even if everything goes right? getting through the two houses. i don't think the house is anywhere near -- they couldn't get a million collars for the cap of the tax rates expiring. so what is the position of the white house aides and the people are you talking to there in terms much getting a deal done? >> well, the difference would be, and when you remember plan "b" failed. it failed to garner enough support among republicans to pass the house. the expectation is this would be a measure to require democratic support in the house which speaker boehner was not relying on then. you look at this lo the judgically, this is entirely possible to get through

congress, the issue is, it is politically possible to get through congress? we don't know the answer to that. >> thank you, brianna keilar. police are investigating whether nbc's david gregory violated d.c. gun laws when he displayed what he described as a 30-round magazine during a "meet the press" interview. >> here is a magazine that carries 30 bullets. isn't it possible that we got rid of ese and said you can only have a magazine that carries five bullets or ten bullets, isn't it possible we could reduce the carnage? >> i don't believe that will make one difference. >> we don't know if that was authentic or a prop, but having a large-capacity ammunition device like a magazine is illegal in washington, d.c. if it holds more than ten rounds of ammunition, whether or not it's attached to a firearm.

los angeles, pushing up its gun buyback, in light of the newtown massacre it was originally set for next may. instead, it's happening today. mayor vil the mayor called it actin activ way to stop gun violence. animal rights activists are asking syracuse elements will be bann banned. the government has promised to ban the use of all wild animals in england. how is this? >> not very much to a father. >> free con dms to high schoolers? the city of philadelphia says

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20 minutes past the hour. let's get you back to top stories. the female police officer who killed an american police officer in afghanistan. she is described as an iranian national whose afghan husband helped her get citizenship there legally. there is no evidence linking her to terror groups with ties to iran. more than 50 people have been killed in so-called insider attacks by attackers dressed just like them. it's been calm in cairo

after mohamed morsi signed the country's new constitution into law. the electioral commission announced voters approved the new constitution, drafted by president morsi's muslim brotherhood allies. cairo was gripped by violent protests before that vote. they are fearing islamic rule and fewer personal freedoms. george w. bush spent christmas in a houston hospital with his wife barbara by his side. he's 88 years old, been in the hospital for more than a month now with a lingering cough. doctors are cautiously optimistic for a full recovery. schoolworkers in philadelphia have an interesting assignment over the holiday break. filling up condom dispensers at a third of the city's high

schools. the kids can get free condoms as long as their parent approval. some parents, of course, not too happy about it but the deputy mayor for health, donald schwartz, says there is an elm d epidemic of teen stds. he will join us live, and i look forward to talking to him. 25% of new hiv infections in philadelphia are teenagers. not getting the education for one reason or another and they say this will help. parents, of course, some of them see it differently. >> i will keep my mouth shut. wait until the interview, hear what the guy has to say. the power of the media helped get a stolen pooch back to its family. just finishing up the paperwork to adopt the chihuahua mix on

saturday when someone stole him on saturday. the alarm sounded on social media over the weekend and by monday, got a tip that broke the case. >> folks in oregon care deeply about pets, and the social media pressure was outstanding, so i think when they realized they had a hot puppy, so to speak, they were eager to return him to the shelter. >> he was in my arms when i first met him, and he is there again now, so it's good. >> so what happened? we don't really know. the pup doesn't seem to care much. no arrests so far. >> it looks just like your chihuahua, drew. >> it sure does. >> on the plane last night. walk if yrning if you are traveling. there could be heavy snow to the north and severe weather to the south. where and when we could see trouble. they left down without a deal on the fiscal cliff. when republicans and democrats get back to d.c. tomorrow, will they be able to compromise?

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severe storm threat. the risk of more tornadoes and even a blizzard across a big chunk of the nation today. for the rest of us, the fiscal cliff countdown. president obama headed back to d.c. from honolulu. and there is hope that some of this could pass before the new year. we'll see. and a big star with a big heart. my first hand look at matt damon's quest to change the lives of people who live half a world away. trying to get affordable access to nearly a billion people around the world. who don't have access to clean water. welcome back to "early start," it's 27 minutes past the hour.

>> let's get started with some of the news. blizzards battling the midwest, plenty more to come, unfortunately. >> oh, my god. we need to go. it's right there. >> a lot of damage reported overnight in mobile, alabama. a tower cam from cnn affiliate wala. blowing transformers, knocking out power to 20,000 customers. the other half of the extreme weather equation, a blizzard, much of the midwest getting targeted. the northeast coming our way. and take a look at this. we want to show you live pictures of snow in seymour, indiana. you can see it's coming down pretty hard. you want to get to the forecast, meteorologist bonnie schneider of the cnn center in atlanta. how much snow are they expecting

to get? >> quite a bit of snow. blizzard conditions for parts of yun and kentuck indiana and kentucky. a line of severe weather is working its way across florida. we had strong storms in mobile, alabama. this time it's in eastern sections of georgia, south carolina and north carolina as well. i want to show you a look of severe weather. what happened when it rolled across lake ponchartrain. what are you looking at is a waterspout. a tornado over water. when waterspouts come on shore, sometimes they are actual tornadoes. you can see the bottom of the liftup of water as that waterspout worked its way across the lake. incredible severe weather rolls across the louisiana and new orleans area. and now snow. as it advances to the east, bringing heavy thunderstorms. in tennessee and kentucky, one-half is getting of severe weather in terms of storms and

the other half getting snow. we're seeing that across lower sections of indiana and illinois. as it wraps around in indiana and ohio, we could see up to a foot of snow. and as we go into tonight and certainly tomorrow, this will be a storm system for the northeast. i don't think we'll see snow for new york city, for example, maybe a little bit. boston will certainly see snow. but coastal areas will be spared. good news for the jersey shore as they continue to recover from hurricane sandy. now, looking where we will see heavy snow. a big snowmaker for the northeast. much of new england will be impacted as well as the great lakes and the areas in purple, over a foot of snow. so really the last thing you want at such a busy holiday week with so many people traveling. a look at snowfall totals and warnings. memphis getting snow, heavy amounts of snow for the heartland, including paducah, kentucky, cape girardeau, missouri. up to a foot of snow in western

pennsylvania, scranton hit hard and much of new hampshire, pretty much the whole state, vermont. boston a little bit, new york city a little bit. not too bad. you will manage. jersey shore and further off to the atlantic, spared from the storm. this is good news this will come in for many people traveling this week. bad timing as we look toward the holidays. so far, we have a foot of snow on the ground. i want to point out in arkansas, how unusual this is to have christmas day. yesterday falling. only happens once a decade. north little rock. 10 inches of snow. little rock rarely sees measurable snow. once every ten or 11 years this much happens only once in a lifetime. very unusual to see snow in texas, oklahoma, and arkansas, especially so much of it.

the snow will be sticking this morning. getting out, heading to the stores, give yourself extra time. snoet will be cold and solid. not expecting it to melt very much as we go forward, al inna and drew, watching a storm system for today. the extreme southeast impacted by severe weather. blizzard conditions in the heartland and snow heading to the northeast. a busy holiday week. >> something that really caught our attention. snow in new york city, bonnie. what is a little bit of snow? >> a couple of inches. it's not too bad, i can handle it. but upstate new york, it will be over a foot. >> welcome to new york, drew griffin. a tornado in mobile, alabama, knocked out power to nearly 26,000 people and a local hospital. several buildings, including a high school, church, and two dozen homes were damaged. >> well, i prayed to god as loud as i could and i was just

praying for my safety. and i knew that the church was shaking. prayed that the church stayed put. >> the church is still standing, but the damage as you saw, is widespread. on the phone with us now is mobile fire rescue department public information officer, steve huffman. mr. huffman, thank you for joining us. one of the churches, trinity episcopal suffered a lot of damage. part of the roof is gone, front part of the parish is gone. and they went through a $1 million renovation. thank goodness it didn't happen when the church was packed. as daylight breaks what is the biggest challenge in terms of cleanup? >> we had public works crews working throughout the night and alabama power crews working to restore power in those affected areas. these guys -- i mean, unfortunately, this was not

anything new to us. now, tornadoes are, but we're used to hurricanes, so we deal with power outages and things like that in emergencies such as this. our guys are well trained to respond to the types of incidents? >> how rare is it to have these tornadoes at this time of the year and nobody hurt, so you must have had pretty good warnings out there? >> we have been told a couple of days ahead of time to expect some severe weather to include tornadoes, and i think everybody was prepared for that. of course, we were expecting a lot earlier than what had actually happened. but that's the way weather is. we had a tornado come through just last week, and, for us, this is kind of rare for this part of the county. we're -- rarely have tornadoes in the city itself and to have two within a five-day period is pretty unusual.

>> what are you hearing, mr. huffman, about threats of more tornadoes today? is that a real possibility? if so, are you prepared for that? >> well, we're prepared if that happens, but i have not heard that we will be experiencing any more weather like we had yesterday. the temperatures have certainly cooled down, the wind blowing brett hard outside, but we can live with that. >> steve, thanks a lot. remarkable that nobody in mobile was even injured. people really were prepared. >> they heard the sirens and took shelter, which is exactly what we want to hear. we want to move to washington, where we're six days away from the fiscal cliff. the president will leave hawaii very late tonight to come back to washington, d.c. to we in town as the senate and house reconvene tomorrow. >> congresswoman nan hayworth is here. i don't know what to ask you, we

keep counting down the days waiting for a deal. you are waiting for a deal too. what are the odds -- but i should say realistically where is the republican party at in coming together and signing anything? >> we want to get the job done and in august the house passed and not just with republican votes, but with democratic colleagues as well, we passed extension of all the '01 and '03 tax relief, pending full tax reform so we can get the economy to grow again. because the common link we all have is that we want to see 23 million unemployed or underemployed american goes back to work. the only way to do is to provide relief to employers. small ones, big ones. the president has talked about lowering corporate tax rates, high nest the world. that's terrific. but we have the majority of small businesses that do 2/3 of

the hires in the country. a majority of them will be caught up in the net if we allow '01 and '03 to expire. >> point taken, congresswoman, but the polling has consistently shown that most americans back the president. and the president, of course, insists that wealthy americans should pay more in taxes. >> yeah. >> in fact, a new cnn/orc poll says more than hathat almost ha americans believe republicans should compromise more. the republicans couldn't come to an agreement on having the ceiling at a million. if we go over the cliff, isn't the president in a position to blame republicans? aren't you concerned about that? >> we are trying to make the case as strongly as we can. if you look at the polling at

the time of the election, the president certainly was re-elected, but not primarily on the basis of his fiscal policies, but on the basis of his being relatable if you will to the american people. that's important. we're trying to make the case because we know that down the line, you know, like trying to repeal the laws of physics, the laws tell us, $250,000 for families, $200,000 for individuals. that's a big burden on small businesses in this country. that's going to show up in an economy that's not going to grow. we'd like to see at the very least and this is one of our challenges. let's see real spending reforms, let's see proposals from the president that actually take advantage of the fact that he has extraordinary political capital and could really bring our federal government to the right size. he's got public support to do that. we would really like to see serious proposals from him about

that. we haven't seen that yet either. spending is a huge problem. >> i want to ask you two questions. do republicans elected in their district by people who i'm guessing don't want taxes raised on anybody, really care about a national poll? >> we care about every constituent we serve in our district. and certainly i can speak not just for myself i'm sure for every american. these -- these things make sense and when you raise taxes on employers, when you raise taxes on businesses, small ones, bigger ones, they are not going to have the resources to hire. not going to be able to do as much. >> we're looking in six days of going over the fiscal cliff. $600 million in tax increases and spending cuts. >> nobody wants to do that. >> i think we all agree and no talks by all accounts by the president and members of

congress. >> the president went -- >> and the president was playing golf in honolulu. listen, i was working on christmas. with all due respect. should congress have taken a break? >> no. >> there are huge implications here. we have to wait on the senate at this point. and that's -- that's our challenge. we did send a bill to them in -- a couple of months ago in august. although now it's four months ago. we sent a bill to them saying let's extend '01, '03 for the time being so we can work on real tax reform. they need to send that back to us. it's true speaker boehner brought another bill for consideration to the house majority. but that's just -- >> and they rejected it. >> that's just moving the hot potato around. nothing is getting done. >> if you look at it, the house has passed a budget for three years in a row. the senate has not pass ted the

budget. what family in the united states can make its way if it doesn't have a budget? that's what we have. the senate wanted ed to go awar part of the holiday season. tomorrow, everyone is coming back and we're ready to go to work. >> realistically, we're talking to brianna keilar, realistically can there be a grandiose bill that will attempt to solve our spending, deficit problem, with the overall framework? or talking about a band-aid? >> personally, i don't think we'll get the big plan in the next six days. it would be great if we could. >> the whole enchilada. but at least if we can get an appetizer -- no, seriously. if we can get assurance that realistic work is being done to

provide tax relief, regulatory relief. the two big laws passed previously in 2010. affordable care act, well intentioned, very costly and those are posing problems too. >> earlier this week, we spoke with grover norquist. you signed the pledge not to sign taxes. >> i did. >> he supported speaker boehner's plan "b" and said it wouldn't violate his pledge. here's what he told us earlier this week. listen. >> i think in fact, plan "b" is a good step to protecting tax cuts for everybody. >> if you look at current law, current law says as we all know, part of the fiscal cliff '01, '03 tax relief measures will expire on january 1st. at this point, everybody's taxes go up. we all know that.

we all want to forestall that. >> how high are you willing to go? if not a million, than what? >> well, let's bear in mind that every new tax burden we apply has consequences for the real economy and for growth, so the very west thing we could do, the very best thing we could do is we're not increasing taxes -- are you don't want to agree to that? >> exactly. i would imagine we're going to work our way and make the threshold. if that's where people have to go, we'll make the threshold as high as we can. because the more relief we provide, the better off we'll be. >> it's just come down to an argument over where this tax rate is going to fall. i'm not seeing any kind of answers. the tax rate. no matter what it is on the rich or not on the rich will not

solve the big huge impending doom. >> that's right exactly right. you said it. the latest proposal from the president, of course, did not have the kind of long and short-term and mid term spending reform that we need. the federal government right now is it as we all know, spending more than a trillion dollars year upon year since the president took office, more than a trillion over budget year upon year. that has to stop. >> and you are putting faith in harry reid to come back with some proposal that will meet that in the next six days? where are you? >>ist a good question. senator reid without the past two years has not worked in -- in any very productive way with the house majority. and we do in the house represent the american people, at least as much as the senate majority does

and we do need to work together and you are right. we have had roadblocks and obstructions and ignoring the bills we sent over time and time again until we can prevent the federal government from completing shutting down. that's not acceptable. the american people should rise up, express their thoughts about that as well. >> nan hayworth, glad to see of you. glad you got the memo on the red today. >> i guess didn't. >> i'm ready to go back to washington at a moment's notice. >> thank you for coming. >> my pleasure. nothing else like it in the world. here is the bad news. china has it, and, well, we don't. we'll explain that one, coming up. share brotherly love. share one up's.

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it is 47 minutes past the hour. let's get you to the top stories. tornadoes. 186,000 people without power in arkansas. me more than 27,000 out in alabama and thousands in the dark in mississippi and louisiana as

well. a beast of a snowstorm is crippling parts of the midwest. blizzard conditions in the forecast for ohio, pennsylvania and missouri. some places could see a foot of snow or more. look at this. look what it looks like here in indiana. leave look at seymour, indiana, where it's coming down pretty hard. we had a better shot earlier, but they will get a ton of snow today and it's blizzard conditions there right now. and china has launched the world's longest bullet train line. the first one left beijing, zipping down at 200 miles per hour. it should make the 1,400 mile trip, roughly the distance from new york to key west in about eight hours. regular trains take more than three times that long. it is all part of china's plan to develop a large high-speed rail network by 2015. christmas surprise from jessica simpson. she is pregnant again.

she confirmed it with a holiday photo on twitter. simpson sweeted a photo of her daughter on the beach with the words, big sis in the sand. she gave birth to her first daughter, maxwell, in may. and the famous actor matt damon traveled much of the world. one particular trip changed his life. he talks about that and more in my one-on-one interview, next.

welcome back. when matt damon isn't busy shooting movies, he is planning the globe. would you believe nearly 1 million people around the world struggle to find clean water? damon began his quest to change that after he met a 14-year-old girl on a trip to xam zambia. >> it's very hard for us to understand much you wake up in the morning, you are thirsty, a

faucet right there. one in the bathroom, one in the kitchen and clean water comes out of all of them. >> but for nearly a billion people around the world. a bill yop, there is no affordable access to clean water. more than double that number lack proper sanitation. >> every 20 seconds, a kid under the age of five is dying, losing their life, because they don't have access to clean water and it just doesn't have to be that way. >> in 2009, damon and world-renowned water expert gary white founded water.org. their mantra? we wi wells are great. so he pioneered the water credit. >> we know that women in india were paying exorbitant interest

rates to loan sharks to get access to a toilet. >> depending where are you, you could get a toilet or a faucet in your own home. water credit is working. loans are being repads at a rate of 98% in places like haiti. >> that was my first grass runway. >> what damon and white are trying to eliminate is the need to walk for water, taking time away from work or school. the water is there. >> yeah, all that time that you are wasting going and standing in the line, you have to go to your job. it's the difference between hope and looking forward to a better day. and an existing that basically is about scavaging for water. >> how do you get people in the western world where water is plentiful, to care? >> we've talked about different ways to do that maybe involving

humor. >> take ben stiller. he gets attention for his foundation, stiller strong, using humor. >> matt damon claimed water. how do you claim water? >> on youtube, 4,000 hits. this video with sarah silverman? >> knock knock. >> who is that knocking at my door? >> viral. damon siz his strong suit is getting people to care. >> because there's a lot of low-hanging fruit so to speak. there are so many people we can help. >> do you see a solution in your lifetime? >> yes, we do in fact, that's why we're here. >> really, really enjoyed talking to him. he says the whole concept of water credit has actually helped a million people so far around the world have affordable access to clean water. a good first step. 880 million more people to go. he believes this concept is

really working. helping people get affordable loans to put a toilet in their home, a faucet in their home. again, he says a big challenge is getting people in the western world to wrap their minds around it. something we can't fathom or understand. he is taking this on as his cause, and he's making a difference. >> tomorrow, talking to matthew mcconaughey, who has his own foundation. >> how do you get these gigs? >> charm, i'm sure. hey, set veer system that spawned all those tornadoes on christmas is moving east. we're tracking that, coming up. your local starbucks, getting into the fiscal cliff debate? how you will notice when you get your morning coffee, just ahead. why not make lunch more than just lunch?

with two times the points on dining in restaurants, you may find yourself asking why not, a lot. chase sapphire preferred. there's more to enjoy.

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